Morgan

More than Gold…

Four years ago Morgan got into the car for his first ride with me to his new home. He was leaving a fantastic foster home, fantastic foster parents, and fantastic foster siblings. My work was definitely cut out for me. I had to provide the love and care he was leaving.

On our drive Morgan and I discussed our plans for the future. I suggested changing his name slightly to ‘Mr. Morgan’. He agreed. We would many more serious discussions as our lives unfolded.

He moved right in, and moved even quicker into my heart. I knew when we met he was older, about nine and a half, but so was I. What I didn’t know was how fast our ways connected. He was my buddy. What a guy. I can still see him peeking over the coffee table as if to say ‘I would like to watch the news’ or his little dance of rocking side to side while patiently waiting for a snack or treat. The best though, was on one afternoon; Mr. Morgan and I were starting out on a walk and car load of children passed by. They all knew him from our walks and meeting them when they got off the school bus. All of a sudden there was a chorus of ‘Mr. Morgan, Mr. Morgan’… He looked up gave his brief nod but returned to sniffing. The new smells on a favorite corner were more of a priority.

At night he slept by my bed and would ‘guard’ the door. When I was taking a shower, he would just peek into the shower, saying okay, and then go back to his spot at the door way and patiently wait and have a snooze.

All was not easy though but very funny. The neighbor was a so-called ‘insomniac’. But he was a director on the HOA. Mr. Morgan would bark at the odd cat, possum or creature of the night from inside the house. Many times the window, sliders and doors were closed. With every incident without fail we would get a fine. It wasn’t just once but a number of times. He would bark just two or three times but the neighbor would continue fining us. One night he sent the police. They called first; I answered the phone and then went to the front door. Low and behold there were two cruisers and an undercover car out front. The officer came to the door and looked in and Mr. Morgan was picture perfect. He was lying on the hallway rug, with his head between his paws with those long floppy ears draped over each paw. His deep bright brown eyes gave the expression, as if to say, ‘what is going on officer, we are trying to get some sleep’. The officer looked and said now this is no delinquent pup barking incessantly. We still got fined. We just continued our routines and collected a number of fines. It was the neighbor’s problem not ours. It was not going to bother us. At last, one night after midnight Mr. Morgan took his pet toy kitten out in the yard. It meowed for hours and hours but since there weren’t any bylaws regarding cat squalling it was legal. I could see his smirk and giggling as the light went on next door.

I often boosted his big golden butt behind the steering wheel. At take him with me shopping. He never put his head out the window, even if another dog was nearby or in a car next to us. At the grocery store parking lot, he would lay down on the front seat out of sight. I would always say ‘guard the car’. When I returned he would slowly get up and I would ask him ‘where did you get those ears’. The response was ‘at the flea market’. Shoppers just looked at us in a weird way but we were foot loose mature guys having a conversation that made sense to us. He would sit straight as a stick. Many times we were the entertainment for shoppers pushing carts and wandering aimlessly the lot. We laughed. It was his way of saying life is good.

We were just two bachelors who enjoyed life, and the simple things. His first sight of snow put him on the chase for falling flakes that created big wet furry feet, but soon learned that he must wait impatiently for those mops to be wiped dry.

Our glass kitchen table was a sight for company conversation. He would peer through the glass giving an odd distorted view from large wavy brown eyes. In the table’s upper side was my area, but there was a long continuous smear on from under side. We had the world by the tail. We had everything, each other.

He was more than a fun pal. We often talked it was too bad we didn’t meet a lot earlier. We would have shared much, much more.

It is hard to describe other than what a great guy. But we were joined at the hip. In such a short, short time we had bonded. Mr. Morgan will be waiting for me the rainbow bridge. You are precious, Mr. Morgan.